Whale Edges Sound Tigers 3-2
Published on February 4, 2011 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Bridgeport Islanders News Release
HARTFORD, Conn. - Chad Johnson made 28 saves including some big ones in the final minutes as the Connecticut Whale defeated the Sound Tigers 3-2 at the XL Center in Hartford on Friday night. The Whale improves to 23-20-2-5. The Sound Tigers fall to 19-24-3-3.
The Whale took the lead just 3:22 into the first period. Brodie Dupont took control of the puck behind the Sound Tigers net and found Jeremy Williams in front, who fired the puck past Mikko Koskinen for his 23rd goal of the season as the Whale led 1-0. The Sound Tigers had multiple chances to even the score as Justin DiBenedetto, Olivier Labelle and Brandon Svendsen all had opportunities from point blank range. However, Whale netminder Chad Johnson was sharp between the pipes and the score remained 1-0 after 20 minutes.
Justin DiBenedetto continued his recent hot streak and tied the game at 6:07 of the second period. After DiBenedetto drew a roughing penalty on Devin DiDiomete, the second-year Sound Tiger knocked a rebound past Johnson for his 10th goal of the season to tie the score 1-1.
A controversial goal put the Whale back in front. After Koskinen made a fantastic save on Evgeni Grachev, Grachev's skate hit Koskinen in the head as he fell down. Koskinen was down on the ice, referee Chris Brown elected not to blow the whistle and it was a costly no-call for the Sound Tigers. As Koskinen slowly made his way to his feet, Jyri Niemi blasted a shot from the point into the open net. The Sound Tigers goalie slammed his helmet to the ice in anger but the call stood and the Whale led 2-1 at 7:02. The Whale increased its lead to two on Kris Newbury's goal at 11:20 of the period and the Sound Tigers trailed 3-1 headed to the third.
Wes O'Neill knocked a rebound from Brady Leisenring's shot past Johnson with 6:56 left in regulation to cut the deficit to one, but Johnson continued to make big saves down the stretch and the Sound Tigers fell 3-2.
The Sound Tigers return to action tomorrow night when they host the Springfield Falcons at 7 p.m. Fans who bring four or more non-perishable food items to tomorrow's game will receive a free ticket to a future Sound Tigers game this season. The Sound Tigers' "Feed the Tigers" food drive is in support of the Souper Bowl of Caring, which is a national movement geared towards helping others and donating food to local area pantries on Super Bowl weekend.
American Hockey League Stories from February 4, 2011
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